Changes in Foodways

Well, I've noticed a change in my foodways lately. What are foodways? Well, that means the ways a culture or a people think about food, and how they go about expressing those thoughts via cooking and consuming the food. It's a fancy college word, but it's the best word to describe some changes I'm seeing in my own thoughts and actions now that I am 10 months out from my weight loss surgery.

1. Save the best for last. I think this is pretty common, and I never realized I even did this until I could only eat a small volume of food. Before surgery, I'd eat the stuff I liked least first, so I could finish with whatever "the best" was on my plate. (Maybe this is why desserts are held in such high esteem; they come last, so make them great!) Now, I realize that method of eating was contributing to my overweight status, eating calories and food I didn't really want, then stuffing myself to eat the foods I loved. Nowadays, I eat the best first. I only have so many bites that I can get down, so why waste them on plain ol' canned veggies, when I could eat some baby greens salad w/ marinated feta cheese, kalamata olives, and a balsamic vinaigrette? When it comes to a good hamburger, I only eat from the center of it, the part that contains all the condiments and toppings. I don't waste bites or calories with the less flavorful outer edges of the burger. I can't eat it all anyway, so I just pick the best parts to eat.

2. There are children starving in China... aka The Guilt Trip. I've learned that just because it's on my plate doesn't mean I have to eat it. When I'm at a potluck, I take a little bit of lots of stuff, but if what I taste is not excellent, I don't eat another bite of it. I used to finish it so I "wouldn't hurt some one's feelings." Well, my sensitivity was hurting me. What about "take all you want, eat all you take." That makes for a great sign at a Chinese buffet, but should not apply to every meal I eat.

3. Leftovers on your plate? it will either go to waste or go to waist. Does the world stop spinning because I can't finish an entire sausage biscuit from McDonald's, or eat an entire banana at one sitting? Apparently not...daylight still came today. What a discovery! Just because a food comes a certain portion size doesn't mean I'm obligated to eat all of it.

These are all new revelations to me. I might have cognitively known them, but never totally understood them. If you are reading this and have never struggled with weight issues, you may be chuckling over my new discoveries. But if you've ever battled to keep from gaining more weight, I'll bet something I've written above rings true to you. It took me having surgery to learn these. As a fellow weight-sturggler, maybe you can learn and make any needed changes without surgery.